1. Field
This disclosure relates to data stored in a data storage system and an improved architecture and method for storing data to and retrieving data from a data storage system made up of a large number of nodes and including a distributed hash table.
2. Description of the Related Art
A file system is used to store and organize computer data stored as electronic files. File systems allow files to be found, read, deleted, and otherwise accessed. File systems store files on one or more storage devices. File systems store files on storage media such as hard disk drives and solid-state storage devices.
Various applications may store large numbers of documents, images, audio, videos and other data as objects using a distributed data storage system in which data is stored in multiple locations.
Distributed hash tables (DHT or, plural, DHTs) are decentralized data storage systems that enable information, such as computer data, to be stored within a group of servers. When file access is requested, a hashing function is used to point the request to a particular location (or locations) within the group of servers. In order to ensure that individual data sets remain available within the group of servers, prior art systems have enforced a blocking system in which data elements may not be written to when others are in the process of accessing those data elements. A hash system is updated with the location of data sets as the data is placed in the DHT storage system.
Maintaining fault tolerance and ensuring that data is properly allocated amongst a group of storage nodes operating as a DHT or part of a DHT is an important aspect of any DHT system. Specifically, the storage nodes must operate in such a way that data consistency is maintained while enabling high data throughput. Reducing the time necessary to ensure data consistency across the DHT is important in such high speed DHT systems and has not been addressed in the prior art.
Throughout this description, elements appearing in figures are assigned three-digit reference designators, where the most significant digit is the figure number and the two least significant digits are specific to the element. An element that is not described in conjunction with a figure may be presumed to have the same characteristics and function as a previously-described element having a reference designator with the same least significant digits.